


Nothing Useful, in the End

by boattattoo



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Hades Is Not A Good Parent, Hades' POV, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I haven't finished the game yet, but he is an interesting character, but i have so many feelings i had to write this, no beta we die like zagreus, pre-game and during the game, spoilers if you haven't beaten hades a couple of times, this is what happens when you overthink game mechanics as a story element
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boattattoo/pseuds/boattattoo
Summary: The Lord of the Dead is a busy god, and somehow he puts both too much and not enough effort into trying to understand his son.
Relationships: Hades & Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 177





	Nothing Useful, in the End

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from some pre-fight dialogue between Zagreus and Hades

Hades understood there was an expected amount of impetus that came with youth, yet there were days he wondered if the boy he had sired was simply an idiot. 

The boy struggled with the most basic of administrative tasks assigned to him, and now was fool enough to attempt to leave the underworld. Admittedly, there were plenty of people assuring him that escape was possible- Nyx and those fools on Olympus planting ruinous ideas in his mind—

But escape wasn’t possible. Not for a bloodline bound to the underworld by an unbreakable curse. Bound by their own nature. All the boy would accomplish is revealing his mother to those she worked so hard to hide from and risk the safety of the Underworld. 

For all that Hades disagreed, he knew that Nyx knew what she was doing. But the same could not be said for the boy. Even with the consistent and considerable power of the Night, he couldn't keep secrets right under the nose of the Olympians, if he even truly grasped how dangerous they could be. The only secrets Hades could be _absolutely_ sure the Olympians couldn't find were the ones kept securely in the House, shrouded in Darkness and magic, sworn to secrecy by all on threat punishment of all eternity- 

(And even then, Hades is becoming increasingly suspicious that blasted Hermes had still discovered one or two of those secrets).

So how is he meant to trust that blasted boy, with all this at stake?

* * *

“Hades,” Nyx tipped her head at him minutely. They were the only two in the chamber right now as she approached him. 

“Nyx,” he set down his quill. “Have you time to spare from helping my foolish progeny on his quest to destroy this House?”

“Zagreus will not cause ruin." Her voice echoed ominously. "You presume much to question my judgment and cast doubt on your son. He is very capable, and also a god. It would do him well to have your support.” 

“Regardless of if he proves to have a godly domain, it does not change the fact that he is a fool who is unprepared for hardship or dealings with those on Olympus. That _boy_ is a child not yet fully grown.” Hades snapped. “He also has yet to successfully accomplish much anything at all, so I dare say there is precedent for my accusation.” 

Nyx disagreed, yet, as there was little to be done to sway his mind, she left him alone to return to his thoughts and the scratch of his quill.

* * *

Trying to raise and contain a young god was inherently challenging, but the boy has always been a special brand of trouble. As soon as he could walk, he did naught but try to run and get into mischief. Burning carpets, singed dog hair, and dissipated shades left in his wake constantly. Hades could teach him to control the heat of his feet, to speak properly, could instill him with manners, but he never quite could find a way to get him to show respect and stay out of trouble. Though he entrusted most of the responsibility of raising him to Nyx, Hades was not going to allow his child free reign to cause chaos the way his fool of a brother Zeus did with his children. Zeus 'raised' countless disrespectful hooligans who, like their father, refused to take any sort of responsibility for the mortals below them. Or even worse, letting their pride or hurt feelings make them feel entitled to slaughtering countless mortals. Then, when the dust settled and the mortals were dead with their societies shaken, the only result was more work for Hades while the Olympians resumed their leisurely days. The mortals didn’t learn and neither did his idiot relatives and so the cycle repeated endlessly. Children, all of them. Hades bristled at calling them family, and was perfectly content to let all their missives sit and gather dust as he tended to actual important matters. 

His own son would show respect and discipline. No matter how long it took Hades to teach it to him or how tempted Zagreus was to run away from his responsibility when he had his relatives being the terrible influences they were. 

(Hades could look back with hindsight and think on how if he could have managed to pay more attention to the boy when he was so young, perhaps he could have curbed the worst of his tendencies. Given him the attention he so desired and maybe his son wouldn’t have this spiteful streak at all. Hades had thought being a constant presence would be enough. The boy was kept in the house and never far from Hades; and so Hades could do his work and keep an eye on him. Though he is woefully discovering that simply being present was not enough. But it wasn’t as if the dead would be content to wait. They demanded attention and argued louder than his son. The longer he made the dead wait, the more voices chimed in in displeasure. The more tasks that required his oversight and signature piled up. Too long away and the Underworld administration began to slow. It would never halt, but when a few hours teaching his son meant the amount of shaded waiting for him tripled, and none were pleased... he could not justify being away from his work so often, for so long. Even when he oversaw certain key lessons himself, though short as they were, the effects in his office were pronounced. Achilles’ saw much use in those days, rarely standing at the end of the corridor as he does these days and spent much more time corralling angry shades while Hades hastily played catch up.)

As for Hades’ own disobedient progeny- as with anything- it was simply a matter of finding what would make Zagreus want to obey him. Hades knew as well as any ruler that if a person doesn’t _want_ to obey, they won’t. 

Mortal kings call upon honor and hold the threat of death over their subjects. Zeus holds the threat of war and punishment over his, promising rewards to those who obeyed him. As those methods obviously wouldn’t work on Hades’ very much dead subjects; he has to find his own way as always. Fear keeps most all of them complacent. Respect does the rest. 

Zagreus doesn’t fear him- which Hades took great care to ensure. (Oh, how much care went into that. Mindful of his size and presence, to never raise his voice in anger, because if he looked down at the little boy that was the last legacy he had of his queen- of their love- and saw the tiniest burning feet carry him away in fear, saw that green eye flinch- what was left of Hades’ heart would shatter). 

Zagreus doesn’t understand duty- doesn’t respect Hades as his father or lord- which infuriates Hades beyond compare. (Now he speaks to the boy as he would any subject. He is stern, and had lost his cool and raised his voice, lifted his hand and weapon against the boy when it was the last he could do to keep him from the surface- from unraveling what kept Persephone safe- but the boy feels safe enough to defy him still and Hades can’t bring himself to regret that).

In the end, the boy’s lack of respect and deference comes from a place of ignorance and he can’t punish a fool for ignorance (Hades prides himself on being just- even if no one else will use reason and order, he will not abandon those virtues when the task at hand is difficult). The boy has shown an inability to learn what doesn’t interest him, either. Leaving Hades with precious few avenues to correct his behavior. 

(Hades had originally assumed he would simply wait out the boy’s defiant streak. Wait a century or two until the boy grew a little more and became bored of whiling away the years with his toys and his weapons. Saw his friends do their jobs diligently and perhaps not be so resistant to the idea of working despite a lack of excitement. Once he became open to learning, he would see how much work needed to be done and how unfortunate circumstances meant they were the ones to do it thanklessly for all eternity, lest mortals descend into chaos and the dead go mad in the mortal plane and cause havoc for all). 

Hades would find what it took to keep Zagreus in the House of his own free will. Preferably while also having him do actual work, but he would settle for simply not sparking war and endangering the queen and his own foolish self as a start. 

(Hades simply cannot predict how Olympus would react to the truth, but he does not want to find out by hearing whatever they did to the boy if he was close enough for them to take out there anger on him; what war they may decide to rage and use him as a pawn to lure Hades out of his realm and onto a battlefield). 

He spent days at a loss. He watched the boy drag himself out of the Styx time and time again and could find no reason. No purpose. The boy could barely fight his way to Elysium even with incredible help from the fools on Olympus.

And yet he tried again and again and again. 

Would that he had put this much effort and dedication into learning how to organize scrolls and none of this mess would have happened. Hades found himself confused, utterly unable to understand his son's rationale and thought process. He couldn't comprehend what drove him.

Hades poked and prodded, every time Zagreus returned, waiting to see which remarks struck a cord. The boy couldn’t hide his feelings, never could, though as time went on Hades didn’t doubt that Zagreus himself didn’t fully understand why he felt the need to continue this. 

Hades remained frustratingly confounded by this child until he watched the boy pay the fee to be allowed access to the Administrative Chamber again for no apparent reason. 

After the initial bewilderment, it was like a major piece of a puzzle clicking into place. He still didn’t have the entire picture, but much was clearer now. 

How this boy was motivated by spite, frustration, restlessness, and a chaotic drive to appease those feelings and make any sort of progress in his self-imposed mission to do the impossible just to show he can. To show that he can do what he is told he couldn’t do. A simple rebellion for the sake of rebellion. 

His own child wanted him confused and thrown off balance- something Hades was loathed to admit he succeeded at momentarily. 

If this proved anything, it was that his son wasn’t motivated in the slightest by duty, responsibility, or logic. He did much better with a difficult, but achievable, goal set before him. Hades could see the dissatisfaction then, of endless paperwork. A task that seemingly reset itself the moment it was completed with nothing to show for it. But now Hades knew the means to keep the Zagreus home. The difficulty lay now in figuring out how he could convince the boy to accept a goal Hades set before him. 

* * *

(But then Zagreus convinced the queen to return and everything changed.

She was _home. He felt her presence every moment she was on the Styx and he could scarcely believe it._

He dared not hope, even as he felt them draw near. 

And open the gates 

And in _her garden_

He saw her 

Standing beside their boy that survived despite the odds

His family together and alive for the first time 

His queen returned, his son placated, his House whole... 

...in a single move, everything fell perfectly back into his control.)

* * *

It was a carefully balanced act, but he now felt confident that he could ensure the safety of his queen, his realm, and keep their son in line. It was shockingly simple to re-frame Zagreus’s escapes as being on Hades’ terms. He sacrificed a little pride and agreed that his loss in battle- that Zagreus making it past the door to the underworld was an escape (by a technicality yes, since he was on the surface. But there was no escape truly, and Zagreus didn’t last long beyond the doors and wouldn’t last long whether or not Hades fought him beside the lake. But- dare he say it- it was enjoyable to spend time with his son, no matter how unpleasant the surface had become to him) so hopefully Zagreus would continue to content himself with that instead of turning his focus to anything else idiotic, like trying to undo the curse that actually bound him to the underworld.

Not that that was possible, either, but he had long since proven to be a stubborn idiot so Hades wouldn’t put it past him to try and rope everyone he knew into it in the process. 

And so, officially, Zagreus’s job was to test security. These physical evaluations of the guardians kept them on their toes and provided plenty of entertainment. No soul under his employ would grow lax and complacent with Prince Zagreus trampling through the underworld. (And if the fear of being set in the path of Zagreus’s weapon lead to a general boost in effort and competency, that was another side effect he couldn’t be accused of abusing.)

Unofficially, allowing Zagreus to collect the wealth that was out there saved Hades countless stacks of parchment to requisition the collection of it. Doing so also tired out the endless fountain of energy that was his son and Hades was relieved for it. 

Tasking Zagreus with retrieving the resources to refurbish the House kept him more content than Hades had seen him in over a century. Hades simply had to hope his son would continue to happily keep it up until they could find a way to deal with Olympus and finally fix this problem Zeus had created. 

It did not avoid his notice (nothing but Nyx ever did, in truth) that the residents of the House would thank Zagreus, and something in him seemed to shine and settle all at once. 

(Hades would grumble about rampaging and the lack of permission, but as all could see, he was doing everything within reason to stop Zagreus from doing it. As the Lord of the House, of course he followed every rule. But if Hades preferred the current outcome and its lawless means, well, that was for he and his queen alone to know, judging by her sly grins his way when Zagreus approached the contractor desk and Hades loudly admonished him.

She always could see right through him.)

All he had to do was ensure there was always another goal for Zagreus. Another work order to fund, title to acquire, Pact to sign... It was a much simpler solution than expected, as he didn’t even appear to have to be subtle about it. 

(Not that he would trick the boy. Such petty obfuscations were below him. Sound reason was always the best course of action. The more trickery was involved and the more emotions had a say in anything, the worse a situation had the potential to become. Even when it came to his queen. Perhaps especially her- whom he loved most dearly and beyond compare- who brought light and warmth and kindness and meaning and love... he couldn’t deny that if he had listened to reason instead of his foolish heart, denied Zeus and sent Persephone away even if it crushed his heart, then the mortals wouldn’t be dying in an endless winter and the underworld wouldn’t be at the brink of war with Olympus. It hurt to think that, but even Hades had to admit to weakness and selfishness.)

It was a wonderful experience, watching Persephone and Zagreus learn more of each other. Hades found himself more content watching his queen with their boy who looks just like her than he had ever been previously. He often lost time staring at their family portrait, almost unable to believe this was reality, that his family was together. Though he and his son still clashed (and regularly fought to the death), their relationship was better than it had been in a long time. Perhaps one day they could be called a happy family.

(He tried to console himself when his love came to him to ask about their son and he had precious few stories to tell- how it pained him for her to know how little time he had been able to spend with their child as he grew. He did all he could. His best wasn’t good enough. He knew that. He always did. But he had to choose between his duty as a father or his duty as God of the Dead. He couldn’t abandon his eternal duty for a child who shouldn’t have survived. The boy had Nyx, had her young sons, had those of the House- it takes a village, does it not? But only he could be Lord of the Underworld. Nyx had understood when she accepted the role of his mother. Persephone understood now, he could see it in her eyes as she laid a hand on his when his stories dried up and his eyes began to burn with regret. So why did it ache? Why did he feel the need to justify it with such useless excuses? His head fell, the closest he could allow himself to dropping to his knees to beg for forgiveness for how he failed her child- all his excuses tasting like ash on his tongue as he choked out the only thing he could say- the only thing that wasn’t a worthless excuse-

“I am sorry.”)

**Author's Note:**

> psst hades now you gotta say it to zagreus
> 
> This was inspired by the part where Persephone returns to the underworld and you can give stuff to that one shade to get a new title. When you talk to Hades about it he says something along the lines of "it means nothing beyond pride. and be careful of pride" and then I was thinking about how the game obviously gives you achievements and completionist tasks but what that means story wise because its all assigned/approved by hades. Then I started thinking about him as a parent and it seems a little manipulative but he's got some solid character development considering he basically disowned and constantly verbally abuses Zag at the start of the game. Anyways I have a lot of thoughts about this game and Hades as a character and it's really hard to find stuff for/about his character. I'm not super active in the fandom so I'm not sure if that's because there isn't a lot of content or if its just really hard to find because its the name of the whole game ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Comment if you made it this far and have thoughts!!!


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